


Don't Pretend You Ever Forgot About Me

by emorion



Series: Alex Manes Protection Squad [4]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Manes Protction Squad, Bisexual Kyle Valenti, M/M, Sibling Bonding, and it feels so good, best friend reunion, breif mentions of Malex, breif mentions of Michael/Maria
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 18:02:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19011019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emorion/pseuds/emorion
Summary: "And when the hell did you two become besties?" Rosa swatted his arm. "You are an ass to him.""Was an ass, Rosa." Kyle reminded her. "I grew up. I realize how and why I treated Alex the way I did, and I'm doing my best to make up for all the time we missed being friends.""No, I mean it, Kyle. Alex was broken up when you started bullying him. It was the biggest betrayal he's ever felt.""I doubt that." Kyle mumbled under his breath. He sighed deeply through his nose, and- was that nail polish? Was she painting her nails? In his car?!?





	Don't Pretend You Ever Forgot About Me

**Author's Note:**

> Looks like this is gonna be a slow burn Kylex series. Yay.  
> Don't worry, Alex. Kyle and Rosa are here for you.  
> Title from Fall Out Boy's ""The Take Over, The Breaks Over""  
> It is an awesome yelly song, check it out.

Throwing the door closed, Kyle dropped his duffle bag on the floor of his apartment. He had just got done with a fourty-eight hour shift and was ready to sleep for fourteen. When he heard Rosa's music pumping from his bedroom, he realized the nap would have to wait.

"Hey, sis." Kyle called over Alanis Morissette. It was weird, having a sister. Even weirder having an older sister that was ten years younger than you.  
Kyle had been trying with Rosa. He wanted to make up for all the years they missed out on. Rosa wasn't having it, though. And ever since her miraculous resurrection three weeks prior, Rosa had been cooped up in his apartment. It was obviously grating on her.

"I need out!" She yelled back at him, stuffing her clothes into her backpack. "It's like a prison here!"

"Where would you even go, Rosa?" Kyle asked softly. "You're supposed to be dead."

"And what kind of life is this?" His sister threw back at him. "I thought it was bad before, but now I can't do anything!"

Kyle sighed. He felt for her, he really did, but he was just too tired for this.  
"Well, what has Liz said?" Kyle and Liz had fallen into this weird, co-parenting couple pattern when it came to Rosa. And if it was weird for him, he couldn't begin to imagine how Liz felt about this whole situation, her new love sacrificing himself for her sister.

Their sister. Who was now throwing all of her stuff into her backpack.

"I need you to take me to Alex's."

"Why?"

"It's outside Roswell, duh." Rosa rolled her eyes. "He's got fresh air and a dog, and I don't have to worry about anyone noticing me."

Kyle knew all this. Alex had offered up his cabin as a safe place to keep Rosa, but Kyle didn't want to burden him. He already had to deal with Jesse in the hospital and his brothers' suspicion. Not to mention the crap Guerin pulled. Alex needed space, not another thing to worry about.

"Relax, Dr. Spoilsport. I talked to Alex on the phone. He said I was more than welcome." Rosa shot him a warning look, one that Kyle recognized from when they were kids and he'd say something rude. "He has always been much better company than you, anyway."

That stung. Kyle had to remind himself that Rosa was still the same nineteen year old firecracker she had been when she died. And he had to remember that to her, he was still the stupid bro-jock bully that was dating her sister and making Alex cry. He certainly had a lot to make up for.

"Ok, fine." He said, hauling her backpack over his shoulder. "I'll take you to Alex's. But I'm going to visit everyday. This-" he gestured in between himself and his sister "- is happening. We are family now. Or, um, still?"

"Whatever, weirdo." Rosa scoffed, but Kyle was sure he saw a little smirk appear. "Let's just go. It's safer to move at night, trust me."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It had been a while since Kyle saw Alex. The airman had been avoiding contact with everyone, as far as Kyle could tell, which was not healthy. Kyle told Rosa as much on the way to the cabin.

"What the hell happened to him?" Rosa asked, popping a new CD into Kyle's car. "He's never been one to mope. He always bounces back."

"This time's a little different." Kyle shrugged. He had a feeling that Rosa suspected that it was a guy, but he didn't want to reveal to much given that at one time, Rosa, Alex, and Maria had been best friends.

"And when the hell did you two become besties?" Rosa swatted his arm. "You are an ass to him."

"Was an ass, Rosa." Kyle reminded her. "I grew up. I realize how and why I treated Alex the way I did, and I'm doing my best to make up for all the time we missed being friends."

"No, I mean it, Kyle. Alex was broken up when you started bullying him. It was the biggest betrayal he's ever felt."

"I doubt that." Kyle mumbled under his breath. He sighed deeply through his nose, and- was that nail polish? Was she painting her nails? In his car?!? "Hey, could you not do that in here? You could get paint on the upholstery!"

"Relax," Rosa said, grinning wickedly. "I'm an artist. Besides, you're a doctor now. I'm sure you could just buy a new car or whatever."

Kyle grimaced, shaking his head. Teenagers.

Rosa graciously rolled down the window, letting the smell out. "So, what," She continued, "I'm just supposed to believe he forgave you? Just like that?"

"No, he hasn't forgiven me." Kyle huffed. "We've got other things to worry about."

"Riiiiiggghhtt." Rosa drew, letting the wind wave her hand up and down outside the window. "Government conspiracies, Cowboys and aliens."

"You have no idea." He sighed.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
When he pulled up to the cabin, Kyle was surprised to see Guerin's beat up truck parked outside. Surprised, and pissed.

"Who's truck is that?" Rosa asked, sitting up straighter to look toward the porch. "Who would be visiting Alex at two in the morning?"

"Wait here, Rosa." Kyle said as he unbuckled his seatbelt. He huffed when he glanced at his sister, defiance written all over her face. "Just give me three minutes. Then you can come up."

"Won't they see me in the car anyway?" She scoffed, crossing her arms.

Kyle shrugged. "It's Guerin. He's an alien, remember?"

Rosa's eyebrows shot up. "You mean his brother..."

"Yep." Kyle said. "I'm gonna try to get rid of him, but if it's longer than three minutes, just come up."

"Why's he visiting Alex?"

"I'm going to find out." Kyle mustered, trying not to let his disgust take over.

"Okay." Rosa nodded. A sadness had taken over her features, replacing the mask of rebellion she often wore for Kyle. He felt a pang of guilt for not realizing how Rosa might feel about Max this whole time. But he couldn't worry about that at the moment. Not with the way anger bubbled up in his chest at the sight of Guerin's truck in Alex's driveway.

Closing the car door, Kyle headed toward the porch. As he climbed up the stairs, he saw Guerin sitting outside, his back against the door. The cowboy looked up when he heard the stair creak.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Michael growled, as if he was a guard dog protecting Alex from unwanted visitors. How ironic, Kyle thought.

"I could ask you the same thing, Guerin." Kyle countered. He tilted his head a little as Michael staggered to his feet, obviously under the influence of something.

"Don't try me, Doc." Guerin mumbled, low and angry. "It's been a long time since I've thrown 'round, And I'm itchin' to get back in the game."

Kyle leveled Michael with a look. "I won't let you hurt Alex anymore." He told him. "He doesn't deserve it."

"And since when have you given a shit about what Alex deserves?" Michael spat angrily. "You're the one that made his life a living hell in high school!"

"And you're the one making his life a living hell right now." Kyle growled, more than ready to throw hands with this asshat. "Or did you already forget about that?"

The cowboy snarled. "I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout."

"I'm talking about Maria."  
Kyle could have laughed at the look of absolute shock that washed over Guerin's face, if it wasn't so crucial he stay serious.

"What about Maria?" Kyle whipped around to see Rosa climbing the stairs. He looked at his watch and huffed.

"Damn it, Rosa!" He exclaimed. "I said three minutes!"

His sister shrugged. "I waited until Bring Me To Life ended. That song is, like, four minutes long." She turned toward Guerin. "What about Maria?"

Maria was a sore subject for Rosa. Ever since she, well, came back, Rosa had been asking about her. It was obvious that being away from her was killing Rosa all over again, but what were they supposed to do? Maria didn't know about aliens yet, and it wasn't Kyle, Liz, or Rosa's place to inform her. THAT was on Guerin.

To his credit, Michael looked guilty. Before he could answer, the door to the cabin opened, revealing Alex.  
Kyle hadn't realized quite how much he'd missed Alex until that moment. The airman was dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt with his hair mussed as if he'd been sleeping.  
The thought of Alex sleeping soundly while Guerin was stalking his porch made Kyle a little uncomfortable.

"Guerin," Alex said low and steady, without a single glance toward the cowboy. "I asked you to leave thirty minutes ago." The airman's eyes found Kyle's before moving over to Rosa, a sad smile finding his face. "Hey, girl."

Rosa pushed past her brother and into Alex's arms. Sighing deeply, she squeezed him hard. "My god, Alex!" She whispered. "I've missed you!"

"You're so dramatic!" Alex giggled quietly. "I saw you three days ago and we've talked every night!"

Rosa buried her face into Alex's neck and mumbled something Kyle couldn't understand, but it made Alex laugh. A warm feeling spread through the doctor. He had forgotten exactly how close the two of them used to be, and was kicking himself for not realizing it sooner. Alex and Rosa were exactly what the other needed.

The moment was ruined, of course, when Alex noticed Guerin hadn't moved from where he stood on the porch. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Go ahead inside, Rosa." Alex told her softly, before switching to his Captain voice. "You too, Kyle. I'll be right behind you."

Kyle remembered that tone from Caufield, the one Alex had used to get him and Guerin to leave him behind. Kyle went willingly then, but he didn't want to now. His reluctance must have shown on his face, because Alex rolled his eyes.

"I'll be fine." He said, and Kyle had no choice but to follow his sister into the cabin.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So this was your dad's cabin, huh?" Rosa asked, plopping her bag down on the sofa.

"OUR dad's." Kyle corrected.

"Nope." Rosa said, full of anger and remorse. "He was YOUR dad. He was MY sperm donor."

"Rosa, you have to know he cared about you!" Kyle defended. "He was probably doing what he thought was best for everyone involved. We don't know all the facts."

Rosa scoffed angrily, throwing her hands in the air. "I can't talk about this right now. Not with you."

Kyle nodded and moved to sit down. He tried not to stare at the door, but ended up glancing at it every couple seconds. Eventually, he got so antsy, he decided to get a cup of water just to have something to do. Rosa followed him seconds later.

"So," Rosa said casually, all the anger from before seemingly evaporated. "What is Michael Guerin doing on Alex's porch at two in the morning?"

"I don't know." Kyle answered. Although he could probably guess. Guerin was noticeably drunk or high, maybe even both. "He's in the know about Project Shepherd. Maybe it's about that."

"No, no, no, you said something about Maria." Oh, so now Rosa wanted to play the nosey big sister card. Kyle had seen her use it on Liz when they were teenagers, but never had he thought she'd use it on him.

"You must of misheard." Kyle shrugged, looking everywhere but at Rosa.

Kyle was saved by the sound of the front door closing. It was a quiet sound, but that didn't mean anything. Alex could be raging and would still close the doors of the cabin softly. He had too much respect for Jim and his gift to punish innocent doors.

"He's gone." Alex mumbled, accepting another hug from Rosa.

"Hermanito." She crooned. "Little brother. ¿Qué pasa?"

Alex smiled, small and sad. "It's nothing. Vaminos. Let's get you settled."  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"You still have that?" Rosa squealed, taking the CD out of Alex's hands.

"Of course I do." Alex laughed, pulling a small boombox out from a cupboard. "I have all the mixes you made for me. Even though I have to hoard ancient technology just to listen to it."

Kyle snorted at that. He thought the same thing earlier when Rosa asked if she could play her CDs on the drive out there. Rosa was lucky that his car was older and still played CDs.

"Well, excuuuuuse me." Rosa said, though she was smiling. "I didn't have access to digital music at the time."

Alex laughed, putting the CD into the boombox. Rosa sat down and held Hayley, stroking the dogs back as the first song started playing. Kyle raised an eyebrow, looking at his sister.

"Linkin Park? Really?"

"They were the epitome of angry and alone." Alex sighed, lying back in his chair and closing his eyes, as if the heavy drums and angry vocals were relaxing to him. "Which just so happens to be the name of this mix."

"Oh." Kyle never really understood music. Not the way Alex and Rosa had. He listened to whatever was on the radio, mainly chart-toppers and stadium anthems, and enjoyed listening to latino, but he never really tried to find meaning in the lyrics.

"I love a good angst sesh, A," Rosa said, looking up at Alex, "But why exactly are we feeling angry and alone?"

Alex tensed up for a second before shrugging. "I just grabbed a CD out of the box." He explained. "I was just excited to listen to them with you."

"Awe, Cut the crap, Manes." Rosa play slapped Alex on the arm. "I know you. I've had you all figured out since you were, like, eight. You're not a 'listen to whatever' guy. You're a 'listen to how you feel' guy. You feel angry and alone, and I want to know why!"

Alex shook his head. He looked like he'd been backed into a corner, yet his lips were tugging up a little. He must have really missed Rosa. "You got me." He groaned. "It's just one of those days. Went to visit Jesse today."

Kyle shot Alex a questioning look. He hadn't known that Alex was at the hospital. If he had known, he would have tried to facilitate it some how. Which, come to think of it, is probably why Alex hadn't told him.

"My brothers were assholes," Alex continued, still nodding to the music. "They act like I had something to do with it. As if I'm the only one with motive."

"Well, you have an alibi, right?" Rosa asked. "I mean, obviously you weren't there. Kyle acted alone." She glanced over at Kyle, who glared back.

"Why don't you just go tell them that?" Kyle sassed. Having a sister was exhausting.

Rosa rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Obviously you were somewhere else."

"I was." Alex mumbled. "But I don't have anyone to vouch for me."

Rosa looked at Alex suspiciously. "No one?"

"Nope. I was alone."

"Where?" Rosa asked.

"That's not really any of your business." Kyle cut in, cautious of Rosa striking a nerve.

"I'm trying to help, Kyle!" Rosa snapped, still staring at him from her place on Alex's shoulder. "Maybe there was someone who saw him!"

"I was waiting for someone." Alex declared before a fight could break out. "I thought we had an... arrangement."

"Like a date?" Rosa perked up. "Ooooh, go Alex!"

Kyle was ready for a snappy respone, but was surprised when Alex just laughed. "Not a date!" He corrected. "Not really. We were supposed to talk." His face fell, obviously remembering that morning. Kyle felt the now familiar pressure in his chest start to build up, angry again at Michael and Maria. 

"Ok." Rosa nodded. "Well, that's an alibi, right? You were with that dude."

Alex sighed, fidgeting a little. "Its not that easy, Rose-"

"Why, is he not out?"

"He stood me up." Alex gasped like it hurt to admit, but when he spoke next, his voice was steady. "He was never there. The alibi is not solid."

Kyle swore. Keeping himself from confronting Guerin every time he saw him was the hardest thing he had to do. And to think, Michael had the gall to just show up at Alex's cabin in the middle of the night? He didn't have any right to demand Alex's attention. Not when Alex had waited around for hours just for him to decide to go to Maria instead.

Rosa sighed, patting Alex's hand. "Men."

"You're telling me." Alex muttered.

"Speaking of men-"

"Rosa-" Kyle warned.

"What the hell was Guerin doing here?" Rosa continued anyway. "What did he want?"

Alex's gaze met Kyle's, but instead of seeing the pain that he'd expected, Alex looked resigned.

"I had something that belonged to him." Alex explained quietly. 

"Really?" Rosa asked, and she sounded just as confused as Kyle felt. "And you couldn't wait 'till tomorrow to give it back?"

"I wanted it gone." Alex said, eyes never leaving Kyle's. "Couldn't have it here any longer."

Realization hit Kyle like a Mac truck, but he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"Oh," Rosa nodded. She seemed lost in the song that was playing. Fall Out At The Disco or something, Kyle never knew which angsty band was which. It didn't matter.

Alex had given Guerin the spaceship piece. Why would Alex give Guerin the spaceship piece? Logically, Kyle knew that Alex would have scanned the hieroglyphs before giving it away, but why give it away at all? Just because Michael was in the ship when it crashed, it was automatically his?

Kyle hoped that Rosa would be asleep by the end of the song so he could talk to Alex in private, but unfortunately, she was still conscious enough to ask about the one detail Kyle wished she had forgotten.

"What does Guerin have to do with Maria?"

Alex closed his eyes and rolled his head back onto the couch. he was tearing up, Kyle knew, because out of Guerin and Maria, the latter's betrayal was the hardest for him to take.

After a few seconds, Alex took a deep breath. "He likes her." he said, voice much steadier than Kyle thought it would be. 

Rosa laughed, oblivious to the weight of that statement. "Did you tell him to get in line?" Rosa looked at Kyle. "What, do you like her, too?"

"No," Alex said, "Kyle just doesn't trust Guerin's intentions." He looked back at Kyle as if to say 'go with it'.

Kyle shook his head. "He's a no good scruffy-headed nerf-herder." 

All of a sudden, Alex just burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard, it forced him forward, causing Rosa to sit up too.

"What the Hell?" She giggled, Kyle joining in at the sight of their stoic friend rolling on the ground in laughter.

"I- I can't- HA!" Alex tried to talk through the laughter. "Scruffy-head- IT'S SO ACCURATE!"

"That was a Star Wars reference." Rosa determined, turning toward Kyle. "YOU made a Star Wars reference?"

Kyle smiled down at Alex. "I had to. Alex nearly had an aneurism when he found out I hadn't seen it. So I watched all eight."

"EIGHT?" Rosa yelled. "THEY MADE MORE?"

"Don't get too excited," Kyle warned. "The new ones are weird."

"I've been alone in your apartment for WEEKS and you never ONCE mentioned two new Star Wars movies!"

Kyle laughed. "I didn't know you liked Star Wars."

"How do you think this Padawan watched it?" Rosa asked, helping Alex back on the sofa.

Watching his sister and his best friend laugh together brought a new kind of warmth to Kyle's heart. As they settled into conversation about favorite characters and different fan theories, Kyle closed his eyes in contentment. The world seemed a little bit brighter now that Rosa and Alex had re-united. Now, if only someone would tell My Chemical Green Day that. 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Come visit me on Tumblr, Emorion88.


End file.
